Page 119 of Let Us Prey

Ru-Ru: Call us immediately after class. I don’t like that, either.

“Miss Drew, put your phone away!” Tearing my eyes off the screen, I find Zhenga Leonidas glaring at me as if she’d like to flay me alive. “You, in particular, need this information. Don’t be a fool.”

I open my mouth to respond, but the door to the classroom opens and a new girl strides in. She walks up to Zhenga, handing her a slip of paper, and turns to the class with a sneer of disdain.

“My name is Heather Mac Lachlan, and I just transferred from Bloodstone Academy.”

Oh, shit.

Zhenga rolls her eyes and mutters something about idiocy running in the family before she points to an open armchair, blessedly across the room from me. “Thank you for the information, Miss Mac Lachlan. Unless you have something else you’d like todramatically declare, I suggest you sit down and start taking notes. Being late to my class doesn’t mean you won’t have to catch up with the information you missed.”

Ducking my head, I scribble notes through the rest of the class, but I can feel the new Heather’s eyes on me. I’ll have to find out why she’s here, and how she’s related to my guys—and why her name is freaking Heather.

Something about this feels like a set-up, and I’ve got enough enemies at Apex as it is. With a name like that, you know she’s going to be trouble. The last thing I need is some fucking Khan spy helping my ex-besties with their campaign of terror, but I have enough on my plate as it is.

Shaking my head, I continue watching the video, marking down different aspects of mating and hunting that seem important. Zhenga’s right—which I hate to admit—but I need to know how things work with my guys.

The surprise appearance of my period twice this semester probably means I need to make time tomorrow to visit with the nurses in the infirmary. According to Google, that means my implant needs to be replaced; after all, Lucille had it put in when I was thirteen and the internet says they have a shelf life of five years.

Another detail it might have been helpful to have before I got naughty with two brand new boyfriends recently—thanks, Lucille.

I’m still bitterly griping in my head when the voice on the screen describes sex with big cats, which makes my face turn bright red. Curiously, it doesn’t say a fucking thing about dicks getting stuck, and I frown. Did that happen because I’m prey? Fitz was such a player—he had to have fucked another prey animal at some point. Maybe it’s because I’m a rabbit?

Fuck, I don’t know, but it wigged both him and Chess out big time.

Chewing on my fingernail, I warily eye the lioness texting on her phone, knowing there’s only one way to find out for sure. I’mgoing to have to talk to her at the end of class and hope it doesn’t result in a literal cat fight with a teacher.

Hera help me, because if I get kicked out of this school for taking on a Leonidas, I don’t know if Lucille will be angry or proud.

That might bethe most uncomfortable conversation I’ve had in a long time.

Talking with Zhenga about the ‘difficulty’ I experienced during sex, without disclosing which breed of shifter I was with, was a dance unto itself. The lioness is sharp as hell, and I could see the suspicion in her expression as she listened to my description. I doubt I could keep as much concealed as I wanted to, because when she promised to do some ‘research’, I saw the almost gleeful look in her eyes.

But I can’t worry about that now. My life is a ridiculous mess of secrets and threats, and I promised Rufus I’d call them about this letter as soon as I got out of class.

“Helloooooooo, Dolly!” he sings at the top of his lungs.

I wrinkle my nose, glaring at the phone as if he can see me. “I hate Badgers & Hammershark, Ru-Ru.”

A scuffle ensues, and finally, Cori takes the phone and turns it on speaker. “He’s being an ass, Dolly. Tell us about this letter. I’m really worried, not gonna lie.”

I quickly glance around to make sure no one’s close enough to overhear, especially given what I’m about to tell them. “Like I said, I found it on my room floor when I was leaving for class. Someone must have shoved it underneath early this morning. The postmark is recent, but that asshole’s been dead since Halloween. Maybe he had someone send it on his behalf if somethinghappened to him? I don’t know. The whole thing is super weird. I barely knew him.”

“We need to see what it says ASAP, Dollypop. Meet us at my dorm after your last class so we can comb through it and try to analyze what that sneaky little shit’s game was.”

I nod, even though he can’t see me, although I’m worried about the fact I haven’t told the guys yet. They’ll be twice as concerned about me as they already are, and I don’t want to be treated like a ceramic vase. “Okay, Ru-Ru. I’ll see you both after classes and we’ll figure out how to puzzle through this mystery without raising the alarms.”

Why can’t I be a normal girl and spend my time drooling over my five hot professor boyfriends?

“This part is pretty ominous…‘you can’t trust the people closest to you; they want to see you dead’. It gives me the willies,” Cori says as she rubs her arms.

“I know. The Heathers and their groupies didn’t make a secret of hating me last semester, but after I fought Gold in class, they’ve been more of a nuisance than an actual threat. So he must be talking about someone who isn’t making their venom known.”

As soon as the words leave my mouth, I realize I don’t see the Heathers as much of a threat anymore. Maybe it’s a part of growing up, or finding my own way, or the fact actual deaths are happening on campus, but I can’t be bothered with their schoolyard antics. I’ve even taken to leaving my ‘Fuck ‘Em Up, Sis’ list in my room instead of carrying it around with me.

One less thing to worry about, that’s for sure.

Rufus squints at the paper again. “Why do people do shit like this? If this was to be sent after he died, why not call out the motherfucker in question? It’s not like they could kill him again. ‘Dear Dolly, this specific asshole is trying to kill you. Sincerely, cowardly weasel.’ That would be a lot more helpful.”

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